My View From The Sidelines

My bride after her first 5K with some bling!

Saturday was a fun day for me. If you are DailyMile and/or Facebook friends with me or follow me on Twitter, you know I was a wee bit excited Saturday morning as my bride was about to run her first 5K.

When I sent the following post/tweet out - "Today is my bride's first-ever 5K. Don't know who's more excited - me or her. :) #runchat," one of the responses I got back was: "I'm going to say you :)."

Not going to lie, I was thrilled to have my bride of nearly 15 years join the running ranks with me. It's great when you find a partner in life. It's wonderful when you find a good running buddy. But words can not describe how awesome it is to have a your life partner as a running buddy.

Granted, Genople and I run at different paces, and she's not yet ready to log the miles I do on a regular basis. Yet, I don't mind slowing my pace to run with her and tack on a few extra miles with you. Also, my lovely bride noted she liked running with me because it pushed her to try harder and go faster than she otherwise would. Besides, time spent getting fit together is time well spent in my humble opinion.

Genople asked me a few weeks ago if I planned on running in this 5K. The runner in me wanted to, but I declined primarily for two reasons. First, I don't get the chance too often to work/volunteer at a race, and I wanted to do so to pay it forward in a sense. I am ever so thankful for all those who've volunteered at the races I have run, and the best way for me to show my appreciation is to volunteer. Secondly, this was Genople's first-ever race and I wanted the day to be about her.

(SIDE NOTE: My bride and a co-worker were the race directors for this 5K. Their company have been trying to develop ways to help the employees to become more healthy, and this was one of the ideas which grew out of this.)

On race day, my bride woke up nervous. In a weird way, I was excited and happy about this. I guess because she was acting like the rest of us neurotic runners with our pings of self doubt on race day.

Of course, being that she was also a race director as well as a participant could have contributed to the nervousness.

The course was nice, fairly flat double loop with it ending on the local high school track. During her training, we ran almost exclusively on the track or on the course. Rarely did we deviate from that plan. So, my bride knew the course and knew what to expect.

The only thing slightly different than what we practiced and/or prepared for was the weather. It was a hot one on Saturday. The high hit the low 90s and at race time it was already in the 80s.

At 10 a.m., the race was underway! My bride got off to a fast start, completing the first mile in 10:08. She was at the halfway mark by the 16-17 minute mark. The heat began to wear on her and her pace slowed some. Still, she hit the track around the 34 minute mark. All she had left was one lap until she crossed the finish line.

Post-run on Monday!

Her pace quickened as she near the finish line, and with raised arms, she completed her goal of finishing!

Not only did she post a sub-40 minute time, she posted a PR with a time of 37:22 - 28 seconds better than her previous best. And as an added bonus, she won her age group!

I could not have been prouder.

However, I was concerned she might not fully embrace being a runner because as she crossed the finish line, she said, "Why in the world would anyone want to do this?" But my concerns were eased Monday morning when my bride woke up and asked me if I wanted to go for a run.

It's been a fun journey seeing my bride grow as a runner, and I look forward to logging many more miles with her.

Happy running!

P.S. - I highly recommend the Couch-to-5K program for newbie runners. It was a fantastic tool for my bride. It's easy to follow and slowly builds you up to be ready for your first 5K.